Wärtsilä Introduces "Game-Changing" Dual-Fuel Engines

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Wednesday November 13, 2013

Wärtsilä Corp. (Wärtsilä) says it is introducing a range of engines based on "game-changing" two-stroke, dual-fuel technology.

The first engine to use the technology, the Wärtsilä RT-flex50DF, will be available starting in the third quarter of 2014, and others will follow in 2015 and 2016.

"Describing this as a game-changing development for merchant shipping is certainly no exaggeration, since the many advantages of being able to use gas and LNG as primary fuel are now, for the first time ever, available to virtually all vessel types," said Martin Wernli, vice president for two-stroke at Wärtsilä Ship Power.

"With the adaption of low pressure dual-fuel technology to 2-stroke engines, Wärtsilä brings the proven advantages it has demonstrated in the 4-stroke, medium-speed DF engine market to its 2-stroke low speed engine customers."

The engines will offer a range of two-stroke engines in low-pressure dual-fuel (DF) versions.

"Compared to other technologies, studies show that Wärtsilä's low pressure DF engines offer capital expenditure (CAPEX) reductions of 15-20 per cent," the company said.

"This is achieved through a substantially simpler and lower cost LNG and gas handling system operating at pressures below 10 bar, and by the fact that no further exhaust gas cleaning systems are needed to meet future emission regulations."

The engines will be compliant with IMO Tier III emission standards in gas mode and Tier II complaint even when burning liquid fuel.

The engines, which can be operated without an additional high-pressure gas compression system on the vessel, eliminate the need for a nitrogen oxides (NOx) abatement system and keep the consumption of pilot fuel at just 1 percent of total fuel.

In addition, the engines allow for stable operation across vessels' load range with no need to switch to diesel fuel at low loads.

Wärtsilä said last month that it had released the four-stroke dual-fuel Wärtsilä 20DF engine in the U.S.